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Today marks the release of “Biology for a Changing World”, a new textbook written specifically to help raise science understanding and knowledge for non-science majors and how it applies to a student’s daily life. The initial feedback from more than 300 U.S. and Canadian college instructors and their students who previewed the book proved positive.

"Biology for a Changing World" exclusively written and designed for non-science majors from WHFreeman and Scientific American.

“‘Biology in a Changing World’ is written for the uninterested non-majors biology student,” said Marc Mazzoni, senior editor at W.H. Freeman and former high school biology teacher. “The goal is to engage students and show why science is important."

New York (PRWEB)April 12, 2011

Science transforms our lives each day, but for many non-science students, the subject of science is often viewed with trepidation. Coupled with the decline of our nation’s science literacy rate, there is an urgent need to improve science understanding, especially at the higher education level. Today marks the release of “Biology for a Changing World”, a new textbook written specifically to help raise science understanding and knowledge for non-science majors and how it applies to a student’s daily life. The initial feedback from more than 300 U.S. and Canadian college instructors and their students who previewed the book proved positive. http://www.whfreeman.com/Catalog/product/scientificamericanbiologyforachangingworld-shuster

“‘Biology in a Changing World’ is written for the uninterested non-majors biology student,” said Marc Mazzoni, senior editor at W.H. Freeman and former high school biology teacher. “The goal of the authors and editorial team has been to engage students, to show them why basic science knowledge is so important. Science is not a bunch of facts — science is knowledge that will impact their decisions as everyday citizens.”

To help professors better engage students, W.H. Freeman partnered with sister publication Scientific American, renowned for providing high-quality, infographics and authoritative editorial to science-interested consumers. “Biology for a Changing World” is the first in an innovative new series of journalistic-based science textbooks for non-science majors from this new partnership.

“Scientific American is known for its ability to make complex science, medicine and technology accessible and engaging in its articles and visuals,” said Jeremy Abbate, Director of Global Media Solutions at Scientific American. “It is an honor for us to work with W.H. Freeman to help create this series. We hope that these textbooks will make science more approachable and exciting both in and outside of the classroom.”

“Biology for a Changing World” Plus Instant Assessment Tool
“Biology for a Changing World” features four biology units — chemistry, genetics, evolution and ecology — and combines relevant news stories to convey basic science concepts plus bold Scientific American-styled infographics to further explain the concept. Biology is the first topic in the series of textbooks, written and developed by two professors and two science journalists. Environmental Studies and Psychology are the next topics in the series. A complete list of the topics covered in the textbook is available at: http://www.whfreeman.com/Catalog/product/scientificamericanbiologyforachangingworld-shuster

Traditional academic supplements are included, but are organized around learning objectives. Learning objectives allow instructors to tie the textbook and supplements directly to their state and school standards, making it easier for them to assess how well their students understand the material. The supplements program will also include a new electronic assessment resource tool called LearningCurve. The tool is designed as an adaptive quizzing system geared at helping students to instantly understand the misconceptions they may have about a particular topic.

Pricing and Availability
The biology textbook is available now and can be ordered as a bound, loose leaf or e-book form. Pricing listed does not include the traditional college bookstore mark up which is approximately 38 percent: $71 for the bound copy, $53 for the loose leaf, and approximately $60 for the e-book version.

“Biology for a Changing World” Authors
Michèle Shuster, Ph.D. New Mexico State University, is an assistant professor in the biology department. At NMSU in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Shuster focuses on the scholarship of teaching and learning, studying introductory biology, microbiology, and cancer biology classes at the undergraduate level, as well as working on several K-12 science education programs.

Janet Vigna, Ph.D. Grand Valley State University, is an associate professor in the biology department at GVSU in Allendale, Michigan, and is a member of the Integrated Science Program. She has been teaching university-level biology for 14 years, with a special interest in effectively teaching biology to non-majors.

Gunjan Sinha, science journalist, writes regularly for Scientific American, Popular Science, Science, and Nature Medicine. She holds a graduate degree in molecular genetics from the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

Matthew Tontonoz, science journalist, has been a development editor for textbooks in introductory biology, cell biology, evolution, and environmental science. He received his B.A. in biology from Wesleyan University, where he did research on the neurobiology of birdsong, and his M.A. from the University of Pennsylvania. His writing has appeared in Science as Culture.

Scientific American is at the heart of Nature Publishing Group's consumer media division, meeting the needs of the general public. Founded in 1845, Scientific American is the oldest continuously published magazine in the US and the leading authoritative publication for science in the general media. Together with scientificamerican.com and 14 local language editions around the world it reaches more than 5 million consumers and scientists. Over 140 Nobel laureates have contributed to the magazine, helping drive Scientific American's power to inspire, spark new ideas, shift paradigms and expand visions for the future. Other titles include Scientific American Mind and Spektrum der Wissenschaft in Germany. For more information, please visit http://www.scientificamerican.com.

W. H. Freeman collaborates closely with top researchers and educators to develop superior teaching and learning materials for the sciences. Our motto is: We know that a dedicated instructor and the right textbook have the power to change the world—one student at a time. We are committed to superior quality, discerning editorial vision and long standing commitment to education. For more information, visit: http://www.whfreeman.com.